This week the World said good-bye to a silver screen legend Ms Elizabeth Taylor. Liz Taylor in her heyday was one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Men wanted to date her and women wanted to be her, funnily enough not once was she photographed getting out of a limo with no pants on, she never shaved her head in public, or tried to run over photographers in her car. 

Liz Taylor was a true lady, she was elegant, polished and glamorous.

And so here it comes.......it seems to me when I am out and about that it is no longer important to have polish and grace to consider ones-self a Lady. 

Just lately these are some of the less than glamorous faux pas I have been witnessing. Since when is it appropriate to wear a nightclubbing dress with a hemline just past your bottom to a wedding? If you put on open toed shoes is it too much to take the chipped nail polish off first? If your dress is a racer back cut - why wear a normal bra? And don't get me started on "pleather" shoes! Or less than professional work attire. Now of course this is NOT meant to be an attack but as I look around it makes me wonder, what happened to the style rules traditionally handed down from mother to daughter? 

These are just some of the ones drilled into me by my own Mum; 

• Don't go out with wet hair
• Don't go out with bare feet
• NEVER EVER wear chipped nail polish
• Don't show your legs and chest in the same outfit
• Don't wear clothing too small for you - even if it means you will need to accept you have in fact gotten a little bigger.
• Two tone hair makes you look like a Tiger and NOT a super model
• G-Strings stay inside clothing at ALL times
• Take the pet hair off your clothing before going out

Of course this doesn't mean you need to know your Acne from your Prada or dress purely in Gucci - far from it. But what I am saying is there was a time where looking and acting like a lady was something to aspire to. So what happened? Is it the side effects of the women's lib movement, less than glamorous role models, or Mum's that are so busy trying to have it all there is no time to coach daughters on how to be a lady and dress appropriately. 

Of course style has changed, life is more fast paced, women and men are now said to be on a more equal footing and Perth has got to be one of the most casual places on the planet. 

But the next time you go out think about what Coco Chanel once said;

"A girl should be two things: Classy and Fabulous."

Amen Sister!

I need to confess something to you all. I have been cheating on all my usual shopping locations with a new store I have fallen in love with. As I write this I wonder if I am doing the right thing letting you know about it because part of me wants to jealously guard its location like a 19 year old with a new boyfriend. 

However in the spirit of sharing I want to let you all know about my new fav suburban fashion hangout.

THE GINGER OWL 

The Ginger Owl is owned and operated by the gorgeous Nikky, and is located on at Shop 80-82 Scarborough Beach rd between the Caltex and the Police Station. It sells trendy urban women's fashion and accessories along with cute and quirky homewares. But already I can hear you thinking so what loads of places already do that!! The one thing that sets this store apart from the rest is Nikky. Nikky doesn't have the usual fashion snob attitude found in so many Perth boutiques. Nikky just genuinely LOVES fashion and wants to share that love and incredible eye for all things fabulous with you. Not only that, Nikky doesn't just stock the overpriced and out of reach labels. Nikky's down to earth attitude flows through to her stock and makes sure everyone can afford to look super cool on the street. As a regular Nikky is always showing me catalogues  so I know what is coming in soon, showing me new styles and how to wear the latest trends in ways I hadn't thought of before. But that treatment isn't just for me its for everyone that comes in.

I guess with all this gushing you can tell I have a bit of a girl crush and probably want to know more about the labels you can find there;

• Shona Joy
• Natasha Gan
• Mink Pink
• Nobody Jeans
• Mesop
• Mink Pink and more....... 

I think everyone should make the time if in the area to check it out and for all the girls living on the North Coast - NO EXCUSES! Get there now!!!

The Ginger Owl 

Cupcakes in Claremont

When I was little my Mum and I would often go shopping together and whenever Mum needed something really special to wear we would go to Claremont. To me going shopping there was unlike going anywhere else. The women I saw all had blow-dryed hair, wore super large sunglasses and twin sets while dripping in heavy gold and pearls. While the men would wear perfectly pressed chinos, polo shirts and leather loafers. To me everyone in Claremont looked like they were about to get on a luxury cruise liner and I loved it! At the end of our day Mum and I would always stop for afternoon tea at a little coffee shop where we would have tea and share a cake.

Now that I am an adult Claremont has always been my special outfit go to destination. Like seeing all the beautiful people virtually guaranteed I would find something fantastic. Bayview Tce and St Quentin Ave had a unique vibe all of their own totally unmatched by suburban Mc Mega Malls.

So today while off work I went to the newly built Claremont Quarter excited by the prospect of having so many of my favourite labels all in one place. But as I walked down St Quentin Ave I saw to my left the new Mall and the way it made the rest of the shops on the right look so tatty. I felt a real sense of sadness. Like somehow the new mall had eaten up all of my fond memories, and replaced them with another soulless shopping experience. To me mega malls are the casino of shopping experiences. You park underground in the dark, you are inside the whole time with no fresh air and there are never any clocks. And sadly this Mall despite its location is exactly the same. Except this time the David Jones has Chloe and Jimmy Choo and high end Aussie labels Zimmermann and Sass&Bide have also set up shop.

Now of course there is probably much to love about the new Claremont Quarter and when I go back to buy my new Winter fashion hopefully I will have gotten over my feelings of loss of the Claremont that was. But as I walked around today I couldn't help but feel that should I ever have a daughter she would never feel the way about Claremont that I once did.

But don't worry folks all the beautiful labels with their new Winter ranges will perk me up. I saw loads of items I wanted.

I just need some time.

So this is me!

For a long time now I have wanted to write a blog to celebrate the unique style landscape of Perth. Not only fashion which for as long as I can remember I've had an intense (enough to keep you up at night) obsession for but also food, bars (cocktails cocktails cocktails and a great scotch!) and of course our beautiful coast.

In the last few years Perth and the suburbs close to the GPO have been experiencing subtle changes. Nowadays your own suburb (well not everyone's) has a nightlife and a semi stylish day-life. There are fashionable boutiques not just boutiques with fashion, great coffee and a vibe that makes you think that maybe Perth could be on the verge of almost cool. Really? No Really!

I'll be using some of my best girls and guys as inspiration - though they don't know it yet.

So this is a blog about loving all things gorgeous, stylish and a girl (ME) with Perth-onality.